While most Realtors go about the daily business of letting themselves and their buyers into sellers' homes using MLS-approved lockbox technologies, they don't know that there's a fierce competition behind the scenes for lucrative and long-term lockbox contracts between two major service providers -- GE and Sentrilock. And whomever has the best products and service to offer to MLSs wins.

GE Security, Inc., is a subsidiary of the General Electric Co., and owns Supra and Risco, both MLS lockbox service providers. In 2001, GE made news by introducing new Supra technologies and surprising 6-year contract extensions based on the announcement that the company would no longer support technologies already purchased by the MLSs and their agents after a certain date. That had many MLS executives up in arms. Before long, the company was investigated by the Department of Justice for allegedly inhibiting competition for lockbox business based on its plethora of patents, lengthy contracts, forced upgrades, and more.

The uprising, which took place at the May mid-year conference of the National Association of Realtors in 2001, resulted in NAR taking matters into its own hands. NAR vice-president Bob Goldberg partnered with top MLS product designer Scott Fisher, president and CEO of MFM Communications which developed PC Access for Moore Data. He was already working on a lockbox solution, so the NAR bought controlling interest, kept Fisher as CEO, and Sentrilock, LLC was formed. By January 2004, they had a product to sell. With the debut of Sentrilock's homely but cost-efficient new lockbox, the DOJ went away, and the competition between GE and Sentrilock began in earnest.

The reason that lockboxes got so complicated was that Internet technologies were added. No longer a simple strongbox to hold the seller's housekey, lockboxes became gateways to the MLS, so that agents could give and receive showing instructions, see who had accessed their seller's home, and ask for and/or receive feedback. The seller's agent could also see how long the showing was, or if a showing took place at all.

Supra was the first to deliver these new features to agents via an awkward clamshell device from which agents could download information about their listings and showings nightly.

It was just a matter of time before more technologies were introduced. Supra introduced the iBox in 2003, a mobile wireless platform that allowed agents wireless electronic keybox access via their mobile telephones.

Sentrilock answered back with the Sentricard -- a hotel-key technology that is simple and easy to carry like a credit card, with an embedded "chip" that contains the security data for the lockbox system.

Now real-time showing information is being electronically transmitted.

At this year's mid-year conference in mid-May, GE announced the launch of ActiveKEY, the first wireless lockbox key "designed for mobile real estate professionals." Using a wireless cellular connection, ActiveKEY replaces the display key, and "dramatically increases ease of use while offering improved security for listed properties. Its instant notification feature can inform listing real estate agents as soon as other agents and prospective buyers walk into a property, helping them be more in control of their listings and more efficient in pursuing sales opportunities by allowing immediate follow ups on showings."

"Real estate agents have been waiting for an access key that frees them from the need for hardwired computer connectivity and gives them more time to sell," said Stan Earnshaw, vice president, vertical solutions sales and marketing, GE Security. "Now, using GE Security's ActiveKEY, real estate agents will know instantly when and by whom their properties are shown. Quicker and better feedback provides peace of mind for agents and their clients -- and can add up to faster sales."

No more hardwired cradles to update information at home. Now agents can receive instant wireless updates via a portable, more readable keypad, complete with a flashlight for easier viewing.

ActiveKey is being beta tested and should be available by mid-summer.

Unlike the strong-arming techniques employed in 2001, Supra's current management says there will be no forced upgrades. Sentrilock is set to debut its new wireless information input and retrieval lockbox platform at the NAR convention in November.

Despite a slower start out of the gate, Sentrilock is evening the playing field. Sentrilock has grown meteorically and now has 130 plus Realtor® Associations serving more than 115,000 agents nationwide as its clients. While GE has an advantage with large boards, Sentrilock has appeal to smaller and mid-size boards, but it's starting to attract large boards, too. At 26,000 members and with tens of thousands of listings among them, the Long Island Board of Realtors®, Inc. (LIBOR) is the largest independent board in America.

"When we invited lockbox companies to make their presentations to our leadership, Sentrilock blew all the others out of the water in terms of features and the company behind this quality product," said 2007 LIBOR President Linda Bonarelli. Bonarelli, an industry veteran of more than 20 years, works for RE/MAX North Shore and was a member of the committee responsible for evaluating lockbox solutions and vendors. LIBOR made the switch to Sentrilock earlier this year.

Bonarelli said she and the other lockbox committee members were very impressed by Sentrilock's unique features. "Our previous vendor had problems when the batteries in their lockboxes ran out and they couldn't be accessed," she explained. "With Sentrilock and its microchip technology, you don't have to worry about battery problems, or being locked out."

Fisher won't reveal anything about Sentrilock's new product, but he's not worried that Supra will have their new product available first. He says Sentrilock's coming out with a new product that is also being beta-tested. He says confidently, "We're not far behind. We're three steps ahead."